Polish PM Takes Internet Censorship Debate Offline

Polish Internet surfers appeared to have won a vital battle against censorship plans of the Polish center-right government when Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote an open letter to the online community saying the Cabinet’s plans could be revisited.

Tusk even agreed to hold a debate with surfers — it will take place in the comfort of his office with guests hand-picked by the government and a moderator filtering questions from the online world.

The debate comes in response to protests from tens of thousands of Polish surfers who joined groups on community portals speaking out against a government-drafted bill that, if upheld by the Constitutional Tribunal, will create a register of banned websites and services.